WordPress 101: Everything You Need To Know

TIP! Choose a unique design to make your site stand out from the competition. It is tempting to try doing this to save time, but users won’t think much of it.

Are you aware of what WordPress can do? Are you aware of the best plugins and how they function? Have you given some thought to your website security? To attract repeat visitors, you need to know the best way to make an appealing website. Keep reading for more answers to your WordPress questions.

TIP! If your post’s title is lengthy, shorten the permalink. Using too many words will make a clunky URL.

Choose a design that is relatively unique when making your WordPress blog; don’t just choose the design everyone else is using. It is tempting, but it is not going to help people think the best of you. Creating a site that showcases the uniqueness of your business is critical.

TIP! It is relatively easy to include video blogging in your WordPress site. You must do some preparation; however, it’s worth it.

Become familiar with the tools available to use with WordPress. For instance, the button “kitchen sink” gives you a plethora of choices for formatting and importing content into your posts. Also check out “screen options” for admin functions. This can control many different formatting elements.

TIP! You must specify if you want your post to appear in other than chronological order. You must start by altering the date.

You have to make sure you use Alt and Title. Use your Title and Alt. text tags when you use images in blog posts. This area is going to let you put in some great SEO keywords within your content, and they also let viewers see what you have on the site when they can’t access images.

TIP! Do your posts get comments from lots of people? If that is the case, sorting through the many comments can get difficult both for you and your visitors. Use a plugin to add page numbers.

It is easy to do video blogging with WordPress. This might take some work, but you won’t regret it. Most Internet surfers respond to visuals. A video can add interest to the site, and it is a great tool.

TIP! Your pictures are another way to increase your rankings with search engines. Always create alternate text and title tags for your images.

Learn about WordPress before you install it. The more planning you do ahead of time, the better off you will be when you begin. Find out more concerning search engine optimization, well-written content and the nuances of WordPress so you have an easier time building a blog.

TIP! Ensure that users have the ability to email your posts to themselves. This is crucial for sharing as well, because many users may lack Twitter or Facebook access on the job, but they may want to share those articles.

Make a posting schedule for yourself. If you have a set time when you are supposed to make a post, you will be more likely to actually do it. In fact, you have the option to write all of your posts in advance and schedule them to be published at regular intervals.

TIP! Keep your password secret so that you will not suffer any security breaches. In addition, just use plugins from reputable sites and always read reviews.

Sometimes you might think some changes you’ve made weren’t saved. That is likely not the case. Clear your cache to see if that fixes the problem. Save changes by holding the ‘shift’ key while refreshing the browser.

TIP! Titles and targeted descriptions are important. These are likely the first things visitors see when discovering your site from an Internet search.

Posts are always shown chronologically, until you say otherwise. You can change the order of this list by changing the dates on your blog posts. Do this by opening a post. You’ll see the date in the top right. Click the date, choose a new one and save the post to alter its position.

TIP! Organize that media library often. Sure you can just throw images in there, but it may become overwhelming pretty quickly.

If you spend more time on your pictures, your search engine ranking will increase. You should incorporate title tags to your photos. If someone pins you to Pinterest, for example, the title you put in will pop up.

Make sure you have a unique greeting. This allows you to communicate better with your audience. Use the WordPress Greet Box plugin to keep your website looking less robotic.

TIP! To link your blog posts on your blog or website, make use of a plugin that will allow you to do just that. Several links will be added to the end of each post.

Ensure that it is possible for users to forward articles from your site to their email easily and at will. This is important for sharing purposes as well, as many users may not be able to access Facebook or Twitter at work but may want to share your articles with friends. Try using a plugin like WP-Email.

TIP! Try scheduling your blog posts ahead of time in WordPress. You can schedule them to post, even if you aren’t around.

Never use a word like “admin” as your username. When you are showing as “admin”, your site has a higher chance of being targeted by bots. This puts your site at risk. Delete usernames that appear with “administrator” or “admin” on your user pages. Use a different and unique username.

TIP! Do you want to be able to post without issues? You can write it in advance and have WordPress post it for you at a preselected time. When you open a page for a new posting, you have the option to time the publication.

Use titles and descriptions that are descriptive. These are the first impressions that your readers see. That heightens their importance. Use Scribe, from SEO software, to exert greater control over this on WordPress created sites. This will allow you to edit these items and attract even more visitors.

TIP! If you need a host to keep your WordPress blog on, pick one that comes with installation tools that are compatible with WordPress. This way, you would not have to separately install a database on your own.

Make sure you are always using the latest WordPress version. Updates are necessary because they patch security vulnerabilities. Hackers seek out older versions of WordPress to find a security crack. Thus, make a point to install WordPress updates as soon as they are available.

TIP! Turn on the comments for your posts. You will foster a feeling of connectedness, and give yourself insight about your readership.

Use linking plugins to help connect your posts. These plugins add a list of three to five links at the bottom of each post based on the relevance of the tags on all of the posts on your site.

TIP! There are a variety of authoring tools for blogs that should be tried out. Are you not a fan of that dashboard on WordPress? Use something such as Windows Live Writer to help.

In WordPress, you can schedule blog posts in advance. This allows you to post any time of the day, even when you’re not near a computer. The option to publish now or later is available under the edit screen in WordPress. Under that, you should see “Publish Immediately.” Select the time and date you want it to be published. Then you just select “okay.” A screen entitled “Schedule For” will appear. Once you verify that it is correctly scheduled, select “Schedule.”

TIP! Draft an outline of your potential site before you attempt to create it with WordPress. Write down what you want out of your blog and what you want readers to gain from it.

Is it hard for you to post at scheduled times? You can always write your article in advance and post it when you choose. When you make a new post, you have the option to publish it at a future date. Writing ahead of time prevents a time crunch later.

TIP! Just because a plugin has a price, that isn’t a reason you should overlook using it. Think about how long it will take you to make something like that; then, compare it to the cost.

Do not use the drop-down menu to find a post header. Learn how to utilize the shortcuts on your keyboard instead. Using the numbers keys 1 through six with CTRL shows your options. This shortcut can save a lot of time when working with headers.

TIP! Open your blog in another folder as a duplicate to avoid making changes that go live immediately. This helps you avoid mistakes that could cost you money or your site.

Does WordPress clutter fatigue you? Get rid of some boxes on your page. Go to the “Screen Options” menu found at the very top of WordPress. Click this and you will see a drop-down menu. This lets you choose the boxes you want to see.

TIP! Find helpful resources before creating a site in WordPress. One thing you can do is look for good social media forums where you can get your questions answered.

There are a variety of authoring tools for blogs that should be tried out. Is the WordPress dashboard unappealing to you? You can also use Windows Live Writer. WordPress is compatible with a variety of tools that make it more efficient. Try some out, and choose the one making your work easier.

TIP! If you’ve got post that you aren’t ready to publish, keep them in unpublished mode. This way, you can still edit it, but it won’t be visible to the public.

You should now know more about WordPress and how it works. Whether plugins or security, you can learn a lot. These tips can help you begin. Use this article when you start using WordPress.